Geographies of identity theft in the u.s.: understanding spatial and demographic patterns, 2002-2006

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Abstract

Criminal justice researchers and crime geographers have long recognized the
importance of understanding where crimes happen as well as to whom and by whom.
Although past research often focused on violent crimes, calls for research into non-lethal
white-collar crimes emerged in the 1970s. Today, identity theft is among the fastest
growing white-collar crimes in the United States, although official recognition of it as a
criminal act is a relatively recent development. Remaining largely unmet, the need for
white-collar crime research has greatly intensified considering the escalating identity
theft problem. Furthermore, many studies conclude that identity theft will continue to
rise due to increasing technology-driven offenses via the Internet and widespread use of
digital consumer databases. Utilizing theoretical framework established in crime
geography, GIS mapping and spatial statistics are employed to produce a spatial analysis
of identity theft in the U.S. from 2002-2006.
Distinct regional variations, such as high rates in the western and southwestern
states, and low rates in New England and the central plains states, are identified for
identity theft as reported by the FTC. Significant spatial patterns of identity theft victims alongside social demographic variables are also revealed in order to better understand
the regional patterns that may indicate underlying social indicators contributing to
identity theft. Potential social variables, such as race/ethnicity and urban-rural
populations, are shown to have similar patterns that may be directly associated with U.S.
identity theft victims.
To date, no in-depth geographic studies exist on the geographic patterns of
identity theft, although numerous existing studies attempt basic spatial pattern
recognition and propose the need for better spatial interpretation. This thesis is the first
empirical study on the geographies of identity theft. It fills in a void in the literature by
revealing significant geographical patterns of identity theft in the digital age, attempts at
understanding the social factors driving the patterns, and examines some of the social
implications of identity theft.